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Move Over Loft District: Eraserhood has its Moment in the Sun

FOR A POST LIKE THIS, I WOULD DEFINITELY USE STRONG VISUALS; IDEALLY ORIGINAL PHOTOS I HAVE TAKEN LIKE THE ONE OF THE DIVINE LORRAINE INCLUDED HERE, ALTHOUGH THIS IS A YEAR-AND-A-HALF OLD. WHAT WOULD BE BEST IS A NUMBER OF ORIGINAL PHOTOS FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD
For several months now, a movement on websites and in local papers has be percolating about renaming the section north and east if Center City (sometimes called Callowhill or The Loft District) to Eraserhood–since David Lynch once lived there and has acknowledged that the area helped form his world view as an artist and the film Eraserhead–and now Temple University Professor Ken Finkel weighs in on the matter on The Philly History Blog. Here’s a snippet: “Our honest embrace of that lesser, as is, Philadelphia is a rare and admirable thing. Which is why we should welcome the idea that the heavily-patinated, “nightmarish post-industrial landscape” along the streets defined by this map to the north of Center City, should be known as “The Eraserhood.” Heck, Eraserhood even has its own Twitter feed and blog now! While Lynch hasn’t weighed in publicly about the “Eraserhood” moniker, here’s something he said recently about his time in Philadelphia: “I always say my greatest inspiration came from the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. So many reasons, the mood of the place, the architecture, what I saw and heard and felt. It was very magical, but laced with a deep tormenting fear and sickness. And I ate many steak sandwiches there.”